On holidays in Port Macquaire with the family and dragged them out today for a drive through Coorabakh National Park and got me wondering are there any recorded climbs here....became a Nat park in 1999 prior to that a state forest and with roads giving east access to some sizable cliffs had me wondering....

The main one though would be Big nellie...road to base and volcanic plug so guessing granite?..about 150-200m high...so guessing there would have to be some adventure routes on it?...road to base comes in on the left side along the ridgeline in that piccy....

There used to be a scrambly walking track up Big Nellie. I did it in about 1992, well before I started "climbing" so didnt really look at it with climbers eyes. I think the rock was quite clean and solid though, but its a long time ago....

On 23/01/2013 rodw wrote:>The main one though would be Big nellie...road to base and volcanic plug>so guessing granite?

Tertiary rhyolite.

~> Info from the NP&WS Plan of Management 16th October 2007.

Further comments within it...

There is a steep walking track up to Big Nellie, which has vertical drop offs and the public is discouraged from using this track due to safety concerns.

Regarding 'recreational opportunities' the POM considered the following strategy a high priority...

Install a lookout, seats and interpretation bay at Big Nellie picnic area and upgrade the existing picnic table. Discourage public use of the existing walking route to Big Nellie and remove walking track sign at the base of the mountain. Install a sign highlighting the risks to public safety.

I have "climbed" Big Nellie. A friend and I shepherded 3 boys aged 7-10 up the path to the top. Gets very steep, had to keep very close eye on the kids, and can certainly see tourons plummeting to their doom from the top sections. But it was a scramble, perhaps grade 5-6 if you want to be old school. Didn't spot any clean faces on the pinnacle, but thats not to say there weren't any on the other side.

There was a nearby lookout though, which was perched on top of some spectacular cliffs - definitely some climbing there for the adventurous. On Big Nellie Rd itself, if I remember right, not far from the Big Nellie parking area. I'll see if I've got any pics.